Multi-award winning marketer, Justin Theng, is the owner of ALSOF Publishing. His background stems from leadership roles in some of the world’s most celebrated agencies.

10 16 2017

The best way to create an audience for your product is to be relevant and timely in the first place. As Edward Burns, the actor, film producer and director, has said, “I’m always aware of who my core audiences are and I always serve that niche.” If you find your niche, you will also be able to create your ideal audience.

If you and I both owned a hamburger business, and we were both in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to win?

Finding their pain-point

The best way to think of this kind of audience is from a direct marketing perspective. An anecdote about selling hamburgers from direct marketer Guy Halbert tells you all you need to know. Here’s a question he often asks his mentees: “If you and I both owned a hamburger business, and we were both in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to win?”

Some might answer “better quality meat.” Others might answer “sesame seed buns,” or “better location” or “lower prices.” But here’s one that most people don’t mention -- a “starving crowd." It’s easy to sell hamburgers when everybody’s hungry. And that hunger is worth more than high-priced meat or great location. If a crowd is hungry, they will eat your burgers, no matter how you make them or what price you charge for them.

So what’s the quickest way to find a “starving crowd”?

Assuming you’re offering a service that people are hungry for, there’ll be a starving crowd out there for you somewhere.

One of the easiest ways to go about this is to identify all the problems someone may face. Write down all the questions your customers might have. When you sit and think about it, your potential customers have many unanswered questions that might lead them to your business. The list of potential questions is really endless, depending on your industry and niche. The key thing to keep in mind is putting yourself in the shoes of your customers – think about their business from their own unique pain points.

The next stage is to create a list of phrases that potential customers would type into a search engine if they were looking to solve their problem.

The next stage is to create a list of phrases that potential customers would type into a search engine if they were looking to solve their problem. Put the phrases into the Google keyword tool and identify the 20 that have the highest volume and the lowest competition. Then, check out Google Trends, which tracks the prevalence of certain words over time, to make sure there’s still solid demand over time.

Assuming the demand for your search terms have been consistent over time, you can then use these 20 keywords to optimize your site so that it ranks highly for those search terms. With a few online extras – like a homepage refresh and a video or two – you will be well on your way to generating leads and getting great results.

The best thing about this keywords approach is that you won’t spend a cent on advertising. You will optimize the way people find you, and when they do find you, you will have exactly what they want.

Remember: the starving crowds are out there, but you’re going to have to understand what they’re hungry for. If you don’t send out the invitations, they’re not going to come to dinner.

ACTION EXERCISES:

Write down 20 keywords or phrases that people might type into Google if they’re looking for your product.

Now go to your favorite keyword tool and find out which 10 phrases have the highest volume of searches – these are the keywords that will give you the starving crowds.